Asian Massage Therapy

I am not really sure where to begin on this review. My experience at this location was one of the strangest I’ve ever had for a «professional» massage. I get professional therapeutic massages done on a somewhat regular basis to deal with back pain and muscle spasms and, while I have had a 10 or 20 minute chair massage done at this location in the past, I have never received a full hour long massage here until yesterday.
This business is located in a small strip mall in Linglestown. It is not a very notable location from the exterior. On the inside, the room is separated into curtaind cubicle like massage rooms. The lighting is very low and red colored.
You know the spa locations where you need to fill out a questionnaire asking about your medical history, areas of pain, and sign a waiver for any injuries? Yeah. This is not one of those places. They asked me nothing, I just walked in, asked for a massage, and was shown into a room.
When I received chair massages in the past, they have taken place right out in the middle of the main floor area. The chair massages have been reasonably priced and effective at temporary pain relief while waiting for food to be done at other locations in the strip mall. Having had satisfactory chair massage experiences, on a day I was in considerable muscle pain post holiday, I asked for a full one hour therapeutic massage. 60 minutes = $ 50. Reasonable.
When I entered the curtains room intended for my massage, I was first struck by the fact that the massage table was not covered by a regular sheet, more of a fine mesh or netting type material and did not have a blanket or sheet noticeable for me to cover myself up with. I brought this question to the attention of one of the young Asian women at the location and clearly the language barrier was an issue. She just told me to go ahead and lay down. I asked whether I should be face up or face down, and was told face down.
Signage on the wall clearly states that underwear must be kept on and that no illegal or unethical services are provided. I am female, and all of the massage therapists (?) were also female, so I shrugged, got undressed to my underwear and laid face down. The table was a flat student quality massage table with a slip for the face at the top. The top of the table had a clearly homemade pillow over it covered by a paper towel (for sanitary purposes? Yikes)
The massage therapist came in and covered me from foot to shoulders with a piece of fabric that felt like a combination of rough towel and blanket. The first 20 minutes of the massage were done through the blanket, with no skin to skin contact whatsoever. The person giving me the massage had very little understanding of English and our communication was limited to whether the pressure was too much, and minimal direction as to where she should work on the muscle knots on my back.
The technique of the massage was like a mishmash of shiatsu, Swedish, and just some general deep tissue work. I do not believe this individual was properly trained in any way but the work on my sore muscles did help. After the initial 20 minutes of massage through blanket, the blanket was pulled down to cover only my legs, and she began to work on my shoulders and back with some lotion.
At some point, the masseuse pulled my underwear down to reveal my backside entirely and massage my glutes and hips. I wouldn’t have been quite so bothered by this I suppose, except that my behind was left completely uncovered no matter where on my body she was working.
There was no inappropriate touching or overtures or offers of same, there was really very little communication in general other than asking if the pressure was too late or too hard. The entire hour massage was done with me laying face down and there was very little communication when the time was up, other than the beeping of the timer she had set.
When I went to pay at the main desk, I offered my credit card for the $ 50 amount quoted. She informed me that tips are also done on the card. Exasperated and not interested in arguing with her, I told her to ring me up for $ 55.
Frankly the physical massage did relieve my muscle spasms and tightness at the time, but I did not leave feeling relaxed. I will not be getting a full body massage at this location again.
Bottom line (so to speak), if you are waiting for a pizza or Chinese food order at the same strip mall and need a 10 minute chair massage to relieve some shoulder stress, this place is fine. If you are looking for a good quality relaxing spa experience in a professional environment, look elsewhere.